The Oceans calling wild and free

[chaffey]

Hi and Welcome to our 2013 pre-trip report

With snow laying on the ground outside and it being absolutely freezing my mind has started to drift towards warmer climates and exciting times. There’s only one place to think of so it’s



Firstly let me introduce us before moving on to our plans which have changed a few times over the months.
Paul – DH – Outbackaddict – will be 46 when we go
Loves America in general but especially loves being in Florida with his girl’s. He is still in big trouble with Millie and Olivia as he promised he would do Dr Dooms Fearfall if the girls conquered their fears and went on some new rides.
5th trip Florida but has been to the West Coast twice. Also ventured to DLP twice as well



Me – Tracey – 42 will turn 43 the day after we get home so may just have to celebrate when we are away
Loves everything American and gets excited just knowing we have another trip planned. Report writer and planner. This is my 8th trip to Orlando, have also been to Disneyland California once and DLP 15 times.

DD1 – Millie – will be nine when we go – she is still our bookaholic girly girl and loves Princessess and often tells me I’m the best Mum in the world. This will be her 4th trip and has caught the planning bug from us. She is determined that as her birthday is July we will be celebrating at least once whilst we are away



DD2 – Olivia – will be six when we go and is still our strong willed one but loves her kisses and cuddles. There's never a dull moment when she's around. Adores anything Disney. This is trip number three.



Both girls are generally well behaved but the time difference and long hot days can be a little too much at times.

[chaffey]

Plans

On arriving back from our trip in 2011 we really thought that it would be 2014 before we went back especially as I wanted to go during a school holiday, but with some careful saving we are returning in August 2013.

Arranging a trip for us takes some careful planning as it is difficult for Paul to take time off from the Pub he manages during the summer holiday. Never before has he ever agreed to take a BHL off so I was shocked when he said that August was a possibility. I was reluctant to let the girls have any more time off school during term time as;
1, I always feel guilty and worry about the work they miss

2, As they get older it is much harder for them to catch up

3, Millie has started to say she doesn’t like being away from school when everyone else is there

So anyway we played around with dates and agreed that we would do 16 nights leaving on 14th August if the price was right.

Jan 12 - So with Virgin holidays releasing their prices we called for a price. Price in hand we discussed the logistics of it called back the next day only for the price to have risen a about £400. We played around with dates but the cheapest way to sort things out was to spend 15 nights there instead. We arrived at a cost which including our Frequent Virgin Club discount we were happy with so decided to book. So with credit card at the ready we confirmed our flights and are flying LGW to MCO with Virgin Atlantic on

14th August VS027 – 29th August VS016 arriving home 30th



We also upgraded the car to an Intermediate SUV with platinum insurance, so hopefully there won’t be too much selling when we get to MCO.

Now we just had to wait for Disney to release details about price reductions at OKW and Free DDP - the wait was agonizing

[chaffey]

APRIL 2012
So our plan was all set, that was until DH decided to email me at work where he knows I am not able to react asking if I wanted to do a Disney cruise. I could have killed him... Ten years ago when we were planning our wedding I had always dreamed of a cruise but Paul wanted a September wedding which was hurricane season so my cruise was ruled out. 10 nights in Rome and Sorrento as nice as they were just wasn’t what I had planned.

I emailed him back asking what he meant and he said if we dropped Universal and just done Disney then we could afford a three night cruise. As you can imagine the rest of the day went painfully slow at work!

As soon as I got home from work he showed me what he had been looking at all day and then decided to show the girls. The girls were ecstatic and loved the idea of staying in a floating hotel, especially when they saw the Aquaduck.



So with everyone pretty much set on the idea of a cruise we asked the girls what they really wanted to do, universal and Seaworld or a Cruise. Millie struggled a little as she loves Seaworld but finally said she wanted to try the cruise.

With a quick question on here the wonderful Bats came along and answered loads of questions for us. Using the post it about booking a cruise we contacted Tracy at TOAD who was amazing and found us our cruise. Various mails went back and forth until we found what we hope will be our ideal room.



Deposit paid and we are booked on a 3night cruise aboard the Disney Dream setting sail from Port Canaveral on 15th August, visit Nassau and Castaway Cay. eek

With flights booked and a cruise we were still waiting for Disney to release details of any offers.

Finally at the end of April we managed to get a quote from Complete Orlando but to our horror Disney have stopped allowing you to book OKW more than 11months in advance. Although they could give us an expected price we could not have confirmation until 11months before we arrive.

After much deliberation at missing out on the deal we decided to book Port Orleans with free Quick service dining plan and 14day ultimate tickets, with the view to upgrading once we could book OKW.

[chaffey]

August 2012
For the last two trips we have been able to enjoy the advantages of the V-room at Gatwick and now it just doesn’t seem right not being able to visit here for our breakfast. I love the relaxed start to our holiday so we booked to visit here again. Hopefully the girls will wear themselves our a little before our flight. Millie and Olivia have already asked if they can have their bacon rolls for breakfast. I might just be helping myself to a few of their pastries.

September 2012

Finally, the month when we could confirm our Disney reservation. A quick call to CO and we have managed to swap to a One-bedroom apartment with free DDP. This meant that Millie could start looking at the restaurants she wants to visit as she has become our little planner.



Our final bit of planning was what to do the night before our cruise. Do we land at MCO and drive straight to the port or do we stay closer to the airport and drive down the following morning? DH was up for travelling straight to the port but he’s not the one that will be driving. I was up for staying closer. As I do the driving I decided that this was my call. I am sure by the time we land at MCO I’ll have been up for nearly 20hrs so driving for an hour or so in an unfamiliar car probably wouldn’t be the best idea. It was then that I started to see pictures and reviews on Art of Animation. Maybe, just maybe we should spend the night here...

Complete Orlando couldn’t give us a one night stay so a quick email to Tracy at Travel on a Dream and she has booked us one night in the Mermaid section at a fab price too! I really am excited at spending the night here. We are hoping that we can leave most of our luggage with Disney whilst we go of on our cruise and it will magically appear at OKW when we get back.

Our final part of planning was to book 15nts parking at Gatwicks long stay car park at a cost of £95. I know we could have got this cheaper but we like to know that no one will have keys to our car whilst we are away.

[Guest]

Amazing pre trippie!

Did you book a flydrive with Virgin Holidays to get into the v-room?

[xAimeex]

Ahh it all sounds so exciting! Love that Millie has become a little planner! We leave a couple of days after you for our trip, I can't wait to get to 180 days to start booking ADR's! Hope you all love the cruise!

[chaffey]

Originally Posted by TabZ

Amazing pre trippie!

Did you book a flydrive with Virgin Holidays to get into the v-room?

See more...

Hey Tabz,
thanks for joining me.
Yes we did book a flydrive through VH.

Traceyx

[chaffey]

Originally Posted by xAimeex

Ahh it all sounds so exciting! Love that Millie has become a little planner! We leave a couple of days after you for our trip, I can't wait to get to 180 days to start booking ADR's! Hope you all love the cruise!

See more...

Hi Amiee,
Thanks for joining our adventure and for your lovely words.
Make sure you say hi if you see us. Where are you staying this time?
Not long til ADR time

Tracey x

[xAimeex]

Originally Posted by chaffey

Hi Amiee,
Thanks for joining our adventure and for your lovely words.
Make sure you say hi if you see us. Where are you staying this time?
Not long til ADR time

Tracey x

See more...

Will have to keep an eye out .

Port Orleans French Quarter again. We had planned to do a big trip in 2014 but a few things have happened recently to make us re-evaluate life a bit and we realised life is really too short so we've cut back our plans for 2014 so we can afford to go this year!

[christybell]

Alawys enjoy your reports Tracey, looking forward to reading along.

We are in a 1 bed at OKW in July, this will be our 3rd time at OKW and I just love it, especially the sleeping arrangements as it means my two boys (15 and 10) can have their own beds